My brother, Cherno Alpha
by Luca Kaidonovsky
Summary: What if Sasha and Aleksis had a child before they died? Follow the adventures of Luca Kaidonovsky as she is raised by Raleigh and Mako as the second breach reopens.
1. Prologue

Prologue

Nobody could quite believe that the breach had been closed. Least of all the Gipsy Danger pilots, Mako Mori and Raleigh Beckett. The dozens of interviews, the parade, the hero's welcome back home all passed in a blur. Mako personally thought it would have continued in that happy dreamlike state if she hadn't woken late one night after a nightmare about Stacker.

"Stacker!" Came the cry from her lips.

"Mako!" Raleigh came running in. Ever since the drift they had demanded shared quarters and as the heroes of the world, they couldn't exactly be denied whether it was an inconvenience or not. "Mako are you ok?" He came over and she threw her arms around him. "Ssh, Ssh, its ok Mako, I'm right here, I've got you." Soon she had calmed down.

"Oh, Raleigh, it was terrible! Stacker and the Kaijus and then the explosion…" she began.

"I know, but it's over now. There was nothing anyone could have done to save him."

"But I could have…"

"No Mako, you couldn't have. No-one could." And deep down she knew he was right. She didn't know when but she must have gone to sleep at some point because when she awoke, sunlight was streaming in through the window.

From then on, she loathed every second of the victory tours, the stupid, stupid parades but the one thing she hated most of all was the interviews and their goddamn pointless questions. She didn't deserve this. She wasn't a Hero! It was the others, Striker Eureka, Crimson Typhoon, Cherno Alpha and their pilots that were heroes.

Raleigh was worried as were the doctors but they eventually wrote it off as depression. She loved Raleigh, of course she did, but she also loathed his guts at the same time.

"Mako, you must eat something!" Glaring at him she grabbed a biscuit. She didn't see why she should. He sighed and then said, "We have a meeting today." When she stared at him blankly he added, "About the funerals." _The funerals. _

"I don't want to."

"Mako, you have to. All the representatives and the families will be there." Oh, God. What could be worse? The families would hate them for being the ones to return and not their loved ones. For receiving a hero's welcome when the funerals lay forgotten.

"They will hate us, Raleigh."

"I know, but the government is relying on us. Mako, it's our duty." When he saw that he wasn't getting anywhere he tried a different approach. "Mako, Stacker would have done the same for you, for us." He was right. Stacker would have gone without question, met the resentful and angry looks of her family and demanded a proper hero's funeral. The thought made her angry.

"I will go." She would go and she would lay white lilies on his coffin, read out his favorite poem from his favorite book, but most of all she would be there. She would be there and she would salute his coffin and give him the send-off that he deserved.

"Then let's do this." Raleigh said and offered his hand to her. She took it and they walked silently to the meeting room.


	2. Prologue 2

It was absolutely boiling in the meeting room. It was almost unbearable and it would have been if she wasn't so obsessed in watching the families of the pilots. Mako knew Herc Hansan of course, but beside him she saw a woman with 3 young children whom Raleigh had told her was Herc's sister, Beatrice Blake. The children were crying and she felt guilty.

For the Wei triplets, there seemed to be countless family members. Cousins, Aunties, Uncles, parents, Grandparents. The triplets would obviously be missed by many people and again, Mako felt guilty.

But what hit her most was the fact that there was no one for Sasha and Aleksis. Were the families too busy grieving for them to come or was their no one left to care? She suspected it was the latter. Sasha and Aleksis had never mentioned any family.

"Who will arrange Stackers funeral?" Came the question from the American representative. Stacker had no family, except Mako. Mako stepped forward at the same time as Beatrice.

"I will." They both said in unison. Then they looked at each other.

"Why?" Mako asked. This woman didn't know Stacker!

"He served with my nephew. He drifted with him so he saw my nephew's head and shared memories. This is like he was family, for the short time he was with us. I would like to honor his memory and thank him because he did everything to try to bring my nephew home." Mako never remembered Chuck mentioning such an understanding Aunt.

"I would be honored to work with you in this as I saw Stacker as my Father." Beatrice nodded and it was decided. The rest of the decisions on who arranged whose funerals proceeded without incident until it was time to decide who would arrange the funeral for the Kaidonovsky's. The Russian government would arrange that as no one else seemed particularly eager, but just then an interruption came from outside.

"No, ma'am, you can't go in there!" The assistant was pushed aside and an angry-looking Russian lady holding a small baby stalked into the room. It was obvious to Mako the second she entered that it was Sasha's sister. The likeness was uncanny and she thought they could have even been twins, but where was the baby from? Was it her own? The woman began shouting very quickly at the Russian authorities in angry, harsh Russian and the translator struggled to translate.

"What do you mean by sending me my sister's child? Sasha is a disgrace to her family and to her family's name and any offspring of hers will be treated as such! I will have nothing to do with Sasha or any child of hers…." The woman continued in this way, the poor translator stumbling over the words.

Mako was surprised, then shocked, then angry. Sasha and Aleksis were Heroes and according to this woman, they were a disgrace!

"What the hell are you saying?" she interrupted. The woman stopped ranting and turned to her, eyes ablaze.

"Mako…" Raleigh began, but she wasn't listening.

"They were heroes! I don't care if Sasha disobeyed you and signed up or if she married Aleksis without permission or if she had a child in secret! I don't care! They gave their lives to save all those people and you have absolutely no right, none at all to come in here and bring shame to their memories!"

The woman began to speak in English, although it was still very angry.

"You believe they were Hero? You believe I bring shame? "

"Yes! Yes I do! I see why Sasha never mentioned you, whoever wanted to mention a person who insulted the dead! You are the one who shames your family's honor" She then noticed the translator looking confused and realized she had spoken the last sentence in Japanese. Luckily the translator still managed to translate.

"You believe child is not disgrace?"

"No, I do not!"

"Then you have!" And stalking past Mako, she thrust the child into her arms and left. The meeting room erupted into chaos, but all Mako could notice was the child in her arms. There was no likeness to her parents on the first look as she was small with mousy brown hair but on closer inspection Mako noticed that her eyes were the same color as Aleksis' eyes. Around her, the countries argued about the child.

"How dare you keep a secret on this scale from us?" yelled a representative of America. "All the countries involved with the Jaegar program had a right to know about the child! She is the first child whose parents were both Jaegar pilots!" The Russian president looked annoyed and said,

"The Kaidonovskys' demanded the child be kept secret so that she could have a normal childhood. At first the family rejected the offer of becoming her foster parents as Sasha married Aleksis without permission, but after Sasha and Aleksis' deaths we thought they might have change of heart. Clearly not." The Chinese joined in the argument with a question.

"Who will take care of her? You cannot just send her to an orphanage. She is the child of Legends." The translator said. The Russians began to debate amongst themselves.

"I will." Mako said, looking up from the girl. She meant it. It was the least she could do after Sasha and Aleksis gave their lives. She would repay the debt by raising their child as her own.

"We will." Came a voice from behind her. Of course, she should have known that Raleigh would always support her. The Russian President looked surprised but said nothing. The rest of the authorities protested immediately saying that she was a Russian child.

"I don't see the problem." The president interrupted. "They are Jaegar pilots, we can demand that she will know of her culture and they are much like her real parents in personality." Mako didn't know whether that was a compliment or an insult but some of the Russians still looked unsure.

"She will know of her culture, I promise. Nothing shall be kept from her and her last name will be Kaidonovsky. We will teach her about her parents, Cherno Alpha and the crucial part they played in the war. I…. I swear on my family's honor." Mako said very quickly. Instead of saying no, the President looked amused.

"You are Japanese, no?"

"Yes."

"Then your family's honor is quite important to you, much like the Russians."

"Yes." He nodded, looked satisfied and turned to address his government. "They will raise the child, but according to Russian conditions. We will hold Mako Mori to her family's honor on this." Mako nodded, she had expected nothing less.

The spokesperson cleared his throat and said, "We have another problem, there are signs of another breach opening in the Pacific. We need to decide what to do." The families looked sad, surprised, angry and one of Beatrice's children started to cry.

"The Russians are willing to fund for 10 Jaegars for worldwide use for however long they are needed." Everyone stared in shock. 10 Jaegars was a massive amount from one country. A huge amount of money. "But we have two conditions."

"Name them." The spokesperson said.

"One, the child will be tested for drift compatibility when she is old enough. Two, if she proves compatible the remains of Cherno Alpha will be restored and will be her Jaegar."

"And if she is not drift compatible?"

"We shall fund anyway." That sealed it. The spokesperson and the other countries agreed and the contract was signed. In addition to the Russian funding, America would fund two Jaegars, one of which would be Gipsy Danger rebuilt, Australia three and China five. Then the meeting was over.

Later, when Mako was signing the adoption papers for the baby with Raleigh a name came to her.

"Do you like the name Luca?" she asked him.

"What does it mean?"

"Bringer of Light."

"Then yes, I do." He looked over at the sleeping girl in Mako's arms. "It suits her." And Mako agreed. She knew that she would have never asked to be a Mother but as she watched Luca sigh sleepily in her arms, she was glad that in a way, she now was.

_Authors note:_

_Hi all, and thanks for reading! Wow that was I long chapter, I got a bit carried away! This is my first fanfiction so any reviews would be greatly appreciated. And yes, the name Luca does mean bringer of light and I discovered that after I began writing her story! The next chapter will be written from Luca's P.O.V when she is a little older (8-10 maybe?) Sorry the intro is so long, but in true Pacific Rim style, we need a long back-story! Thanks again for reading _

_-Luca Kaidonovsky_


	3. Chapter 1: 8th Birthday

_Hi all, here is the third chapter. This is Luca's 8__th__ birthday told from her point of view .And that's enough from me; let's get on with the story._

"Happy Birthday!" Come the voices of Mako and Raleigh over me. I bolt upright, startled.

"You scared me!" I say, pointing an accusing finger at them.

"But it's your birthday." Mako said.

"And you know what that means! Karaoke for me!" Raleigh says. Oh no! His singing is terrible!

"No, Raleigh, please!" I beg him.

"Happy birthday to you!

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday dear Luca!

Happy Birthday too yooouuuuuu!" I dive back under the covers, sure that some angry pilot who had been disturbed by the noise was going to come knocking. He was singing loud enough for the whole base, no the whole of Hong Kong, no the whole _WORLD _to hear him!

"Did I embarrass you?"

"Yes." I say into the covers. "You are going to make Marshall Hopcroft angry Raleigh. Last time you did karaoke he put you on extra monitor duty for a week!"

"Mr Hoppy can put a sock in it for all I care." Mako raised an eyebrow but said nothing. "I can't walk down the hall and into the mess hall without that old cross-eyed stick punishing me."

"Raleigh, that 'old cross-eyed' stick is the court Marshall and pays for the repairs for Gipsy and gives us lodging. I suggest that you show him at least some respect?" Mako said. Personally I thought Raleigh was right and I know that Mako agrees with him, but I can understand why she argues. Raleigh is too much of a smart mouth for his own good. "Now, who wants a present?"

"Me!" I jumped up out of the bed. "Please Mako?" Raleigh laughed and patted my hair.

"Ok then." Mako handed me a box. I hoped against hope it was the Cherno Alpha play set figure. I had been wanting it forever_!_ I held my breath as I tore the corner gently. Then, unable to bear it anymore I tore the wrapping off. What I saw stunned me. Then had gotten me a _deluxe _edition that didn't have just Cherno, it had Gipsy too and mini figures of Mako, Raleigh and my parents.

"Do you like it?" Mako asked hopefully. When I said nothing she went on, "I mean, I know it's a bit smaller than the one you wanted but we thought that…"

"I LOVE it!" I threw my arms around her and then Raleigh. "Now I can play with my favorite Jaegars all day!" Raleigh and Mako beamed from ear to ear. I looked at them and said, "спасибо Mako, спасибо Raleigh. Raleigh looked at his watch.

"Time for breakfast. Are you hungry?" he asked.

"Yes!" Raleigh throws me over his shoulders and runs off towards the mess hall with Mako close behind. "But Raleigh, I'm still in my pyjamas! If Marshall Hopcroft sees he…"

"Can put a sock in it. It's your birthday." Sure enough as we rounded the corner there was Marshall Hopcroft. I bite my tongue to keep from saying 'I told you so'

"Ranger Beckett! What are you doing?" he demands.

"Giving a lady a carry, Marshall." I sigh and Mako does too. His smart-mouth will get him into huge trouble one of these days.

"You are violating the dress code and behaving in an immature way! Put on your uniform! You too, Ranger Mori!" Mako blushes.

"Aww Marshall is that code language for 'You have good style and know how to have fun, Ranger Beckett?'" The Marshall goes red and splutters indignantly. "In that case, thank you Marshall. Have a nice day." And he runs off with me, leaving the Marshall behind.

"Raleigh Beckett what was that?" Mako demands as she catches up

"He got what was coming to him. And admit it; the look on his face was funny!" Mako opens her mouth to say something, but at that moment we walk into the mess hall and are immediately bombarded.

"Happy Birthday Luca!"

"Get anything good?"

"Raleigh embarrass you with his bad singing again?" Raleigh answers with an indignant "I do not sing badly!" It continues like this until the bell goes for breakfast.

Breakfast is my favorite. Bacon, Eggs, Mushrooms, Tomatoes and Sausages. I wolf it down like I haven't eaten for weeks, and then go back for more. Mako only eats one helping with leftovers but by the time I finish Raleigh is finishing his _third _helping and reaches for Mako's leftovers. Mako slaps his hand.

"And you Ranger Beckett, keep wondering why your jeans don't fit." She scolds him.

"Because they order me sizes that are too blooming small!" he retorts.

"And you wonder why that is hmm?" He glares at her and we both laugh. He eventually laughs too, but then the intercom comes on.

"Raleigh and Mako to Gipsy Danger please, Category 4 approaching." And just like that, the fun is over. They hug me, tell me they will be back soon and then leave. And like always, all I can do is run up to command, watch them fight and hope they come back.


	4. Chapter 2: This isn't happening

I run down the twisting corridors all the way to the control center. I attract quite a few strange glances, but seeing as I am still in my pyjamas, that's not surprising. As soon as I get there I see the two youngest Hansen children, Jack who is 14 and James who is 11. Clara is their older sister and she is 17. She co-pilots with their Mother, Beatrice Hansen. Their Jaeger is called Danger Heart and she is a Mark 4 Jaeger commissioned by the Australians.

"Why are you still not in uniform?" asks Marshall Hopcroft. Raleigh is right. That stubborn old stick is relentless!

"Relax, Marshall, I'm sure there's an explanation." His assistant, Summer Jones, comes over. He snorts and turns back to the monitors. I glare at his back and walk over to where the Hansen boys are sitting. They wouldn't be here unless Danger Heart was being dispatched so Raleigh and Mako are probably fighting with them in a Jaeger team.

"Why are you in pyjamas?" asks James. Jack just ignores me. Rude! Just because he is a measly six years older, he doesn't have to act so high and mighty all the time!

"Raleigh was being silly." I say. James nods and looks out of the glass at the Jaegers. Summer Jones types in commands into the computer. A voice comes over the intercom.

"Gipsy Danger, prepare for Neural handshake in 15 seconds. 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, activating the drift." The room always seems to fall into an uneasy silence whenever we finish countdown ever since one of the pilots nearly blew up the base. It was Mako, actually. She told me later that she was trying to fight Kaiju before closing the first breach, but she didn't tell me everything. I can tell when she is hiding something from me.

"Neural Handshake strong and holding." I breathe out, not even aware that I had been holding my breath. We repeat the process for Danger Heart and one of the Russian Jaegers, Zolotoy Pozhar or Golden Blaze. Golden Blaze is a Mark 5 Jaeger and is gold and red. I suspect that nice paint job is about to get severely damaged.

"What appears to be the situation Summer?" Raleigh asks.

"Category 4 Kaiju approaching Hong Kong. Codename: Killer. Gipsy Danger and Golden Blaze, you will engage the Kaiju in a standard two team formation. Danger Heart, you will defend the coastal area and provide back-up if needed. We do not yet know if there are more Kaiju." Summer replies.

"Understood." Beatrice, Mako and Viktoriya answer. Viktoriya and Dominika are the pilots of Golden Blaze. I watch as the Gipsy and Golden Blaze are airlifted from the Shatterdome. Danger Heart just walks out of the base to defend Hong Kong city.

"Preparing for drop." The blue dots are Jaegers and the red dots are Kaiju. That is pretty much all you need to know to read the monitor and each dot conveniently has a name over it so you can tell which Jaeger is which. "Kaiju approaching fast." The dot labeled Gipsy Danger begins to move towards the Kaiju, whilst Golden Blaze tries to outflank it. A few, seemingly endless minutes pass. Then,

"Gipsy has suffered heavy damage. Requesting back up."

"Danger Heart moving in." Their dot begins moving. Then Gipsy Danger's dot suddenly goes offline. My min goes blank, refusing to comprehend what that means.

"Gipsy Danger, respond! Gipsy Danger, come in!" Marshall Hopcroft shouts down the microphone. Nothing.

"Golden Blaze, what has happened to Gipsy?"he asks. Strangely, there is no answer. Maybe they took out our radio? Gipsy Danger's dot isn't there and the other two Jaegers are, but until I salute their coffins, I refuse to accept their deaths.

"Danger Heart, Respond!" Marshall Hopcroft is panicking now. He begins to bark out orders. "Get the helicopter crews!" And as we were expecting, nothing. "Then get another crew with radio and cameras in the air, A.S.A.P!" I clench both my fists and say nothing. James turns to me.

"Luca, I'm sure their fine." I say nothing. I won't. Maybe if I concentrate hard enough, they'll come back, safe and sound with Gipsy. If I pray, maybe this time some God who never seemed to care before would care now. But I didn't concentrate hard enough or pray enough and God doesn't seem to exist or care. Because the helicopter crew report in:

"Golden Blaze and Danger Heart are intact. Badly damaged but intact. Killer is dead. No sign of Gipsy Danger." What does he mean no sign? It's a Jaeger for Heaven's sake! You don't lose a 50m tall giant robot! There would be wreckage or something right? But what if the sea was deep and the wreckage sunk? What if the Kaiju melted the whole Jaeger with acid? A thousand possibilities are going through my head, but I know that the first theory has happened before, but I won't accept it! I won't!

"Luca, I…" James reaches out for me and I react instantly.

"Don't touch me!" I hiss. "I hate you! You and your living parents and your sister that always gets to be backup and not do direct attack and be safe from Kaijus! You and your proper house outside the base with all your friends! I hate you! So don't touch me and leave me alone!" I jump up and run off blindly and when I get outside command I hear people calling me, but I don't stop. I just keep running.


	5. Chapter 3: Please Wake up

I find myself back in my bedroom, staring at my birthday present. I open the box and pull out the model of Cherno Alpha. I turn it over in my hands, looking at the details. Then I pull out the small figurines of my parents and look at them too. I don't look anything like my parents, but Mako says I have my Father's eyes and Raleigh says I definitely have their personalities. He says I'm going to be a nightmare as a teenager. Tears prick the back of my eyes because I don't know if I will ever see him or Mako again. Suddenly, someone starts knocking.

"Go away! I don't want to see you!" I tell the knocker.

"Luca, its Jack. Can I come in?" Mr. high and mighty? I bet he has come to make me apologize to his brother. Fat chance.

"I said, go away!" He says nothing and I am beginning to think he has gone away when the door handle turns and he walks in. For a few seconds we just stare at each other. "It's rude to come in a ladies room without permission. Especially when you're a boy." I tell him.

"Well you're not a lady, you're a girl."

"It's the same thing." I insist. His eyes drift downwards to the figurines clutched in my hands. "What?" I say. I don't like the way he is staring at them.

"Are they your parents?" I nod.

"Can I see?" He comes over and holds out his hands. I deposit them in his hands and watch him as he studies them. "You don't look anything like them."

"I get that a lot." He sits on the edge of my bed and the room falls into an uncomfortable silence. "If you want me to apologize to James then I won't." He looks surprised and then says,

"I didn't come in here to make you apologize. I came in here because I don't think you should be alone."

"What if I want to be alone?"

"Then I will leave. Do you want me to?" I think about it for a minute then shake my head, because even though he is a pain and he's annoying and he acts like I'm stupid most of the time, I really don't want to be alone. He nods and we sit in silence again, but this time it's ok. Then there is another knock at the door.

"Come in." I say. James appears at the door. His eyes are red and he has obviously been crying. I feel bad now.

"I came to tell you that umm, the Jaegers are back and umm Golden Blaze is carrying something that they suspect is Gipsy's um conn pod." Jack looks at him.

"How is that possible?" Jack asks. I would quite like to know that myself.

"They think that when the Kaiju died, it fell on Gipsy, crushing her. They also think the Kaiju had a weapon which took out our radio communication." It's a good explanation but he has missed out something. Jack apparently thinks so too because his next question is this:

"What are the chances that Mako and Raleigh survived?" He goes red and stutters for a bit. "Spit it out!" Jack tells him rather sharply.

"It's not good guys, I mean; they got crushed by a Kaiju right?" I stand up.

"Where are you going Luca?" James asks.

"To the main hangar. If there's any chance they survived then I'm going to see them." I walk out of the room. I hear them following behind me and together we walk to the main hangar.

When we get there, it is chaos. People are running left, right and center and nobody really seems to know what is going on. Summer spots us and begins to make her way over but then Marshall Hopcroft grabs her arm and pulls her away. I try to follow her because Summer always knows what is going on, but then the hangar doors open.

The Jaegers are both in terrible shape and Danger Heart is supporting Golden Blaze and Golden Blaze seems to be carrying the torso, head and arm of Gipsy. Golden Blaze places the conn-pod on the ground and the rescue teams go into the wreckage. I run over, pushing past people who get in my way and head straight for the wreckage of Gipsy, but before I go inside Summer grabs me and pulls me back.

"You are not going in there!" She tells me. I struggle but it's no use. Summer is a lot taller and a lot stronger than me.

"But I have to help!"

"No. You let the rescue teams do their job and find Mako and Raleigh." I look around for James and Jack but they are not there and I see them up by where Golden Blaze has powered down. I struggle a bit more but Summer holds me even tighter and I give up. Eventually the rescue teams bring out Mako. She is conscious, but is in bad shape and the rescue teams immediately bundle her onto a stretcher and carry her away.

When the second team comes out, I am aware that Dominika and Viktoriya are making their way over along with Beatrice and her children and Marshall Hopcroft talking to Summer, but all I can see is Raleigh. He is unconscious and I can't see the gentle rise and fall of his chest. Someone comes over with some kind of electric-shock things.

"Starting CPR" they say. Nothing happens. Someone else tells them to do it again and they do. Nothing. I give myself one final yank in an attempt to get away from Summer and this time she lets go. I run to Raleigh and go down beside him.

"Raleigh wake up!" I shake him.

"Please wake up Raleigh, please?" I shake him a bit harder then I hit him several times.

"Raleigh why aren't you listening to me? I'm telling you to wake up! Get up Raleigh!" Finally I accept that he isn't going to come back and I collapse over him, sobbing. Then I hear something. Slow and quiet and first, then speeding up and getting louder and louder. I sit upright as he breathes in and out.

"Raleigh?" I ask, and then I turn to the others. "He's alive!" The rescue teams come over just as his eyes flutter open. "Raleigh!" I throw my arms around his neck and push the rescue team away.

"Can't….. Breathe…." He says weakly. I loosen my hold but I don't let go.

"You died!" I say accusingly.

"Well I'm alright now." He says. This time when the Doctors come over, someone pulls me back and picks me up and I don't protest.

"Come away now, _malyutka." _Says a Russian voice in my ear. I think it's Dominika, but when I look up its Viktoriya. Viktoriya doesn't really talk much to children so I'm quite surprised. I'm also really tired. I think Viktoriya is taking me to the hospital wing where Mako and Raleigh will be, but I'm so tired and I just can't stay awake…..


	6. Chapter 4: I'm really, really sorry

_**Hi all and thanks for reading/reviewing/following! Im sorry I haven't brought in Cherno yet, this section was supposed to be maybe 1 or 2 chapters but I got carried away! Im hoping to bring him in the chapter after this and focus more on the Jaeger/pilot side of things, I just want to tie up loose ends. And sorry for not posting a chapter for a while, I have been away and there were no computers! Thanks again for reading and I hope you enjoy this chapter!**_

I awake in a hospital bed and for a second I am confused, but then I remember where I am and what happened. I jump out of bed and I see Mako, sitting up in bed and drinking her 'nasty tea' as Raleigh and I call it. I run over and throw my arms around her and I hear the protests from one of the nurses but I ignore them.

"Mako! I was really worried and where is Raleigh and what happened and what will they do with Gipsy and, and…."she laughs and covers her hand with my mouth.

"So many questions! To answer them, Raleigh is in another ward and I don't really remember what happened because the last thing I saw was water and kaiju coming down on top of me." She still hasn't answered one.

"What about Gipsy?" I persist.

"Raleigh wants to see you."

"Mako!"

"And if you go up there then he will tell you. He is in ward 3." I hug her quickly and run out of the room up the stairs to ward 3. In there I see Dominika and Viktoriya talking to each other in quiet voices. I can't make out what they are saying but by the looks on their faces it must be serious. I see Summer and Marshall Hopcroft and a few other people around a bed. The Summer moves and I see Raleigh. I go over. His face lights up when he sees me.

"Hello squirt!"

"Raleigh! You're ok!" I would hug him but his right arm and right leg are in bandages and I don't want to cause any more damage than there already is.

"And why woudn't I be?" He jokes. I glare at him then remember what I wanted to ask.

"What's going to happen to Gipsy?" He sighs.

"Well, she is damaged beyond repair so the Russian President has given permission for the remains of Cherno to be fused with the remains of Gipsy, throw in a few parts and make a new Jaeger."

"I thought you said that I was going to pilot Cherno when he was rebuilt and what will they name the Jaeger? Cherno Danger or Gipsy Alpha or something?"

"I was just coming to that. It will take a while to rebuild so you will still pilot if you pass the drift compatibility test and Mako and I will be piloting one of the new Jaegers, Lyrical Angel which is being commissioned by the Russians."

"But can the president even do that?" I don't see why he should just be able to make Mako and Raleigh pilot a new Jaeger and fuse the remains of Gipsy and Cherno. Raleigh smirks.

"People with money can do whatever they please and the Russian President has a lot of money and power."

"That's not fair!"

"I know but that's the world for you." He smiles, but then his face turns serious. "I hear you said something not very nice to one of the Hansen boys." Oh dear. I had completely forgotten about that. I go red.

"I was scared!" I protest.

"So you took your fear out on this boy?"

"I didn't mean to!"

"Did you apologise?"

"Well… umm…. No not exactly." I say.

"Well don't you think that you should?"

"Yes." I mean, he is my friend after all. "I will go and find him."

"He is with his Mother helping repair her Jaeger. He came by earlier. Looked pretty miserable."

"Bye Raleigh, get better soon." I smile half heartedly and go off, walking slowly. I'm not eager to get there. He is my friend, but I don't like apologising because I don't like admitting I was wrong. Call it a pride thing, but you can't change it. Eventually I arrive in the hangar where James is sitting by Danger's foot. I head over.

"James? I need to talk to you." He pretends that he hasn't heard me. "James? I'm really, really, really a million times over sorry." He turns to face me. His eyes are red and he has a blotchy face. He has obviously been crying. Now I feel really uncomfortable. I hate it when people cry because of me, especially boys.

"You were right you know."

"What?!" Now I am confused.

"With what you said. It was right and even though I didn't like hearing it, you were right."

"No! No I wasn't! I was scared and it was really mean and I definitely don't hate you! Can we please be friends?" He doesn't speak for a bit.

"Well, ok." I smile and give him a hug and he smiles back. And I know that things are going to be ok between us.


	7. Chapter 5: My Brother

_**Hi everyone, yesterday this story got over 1000 views for the first time and it is still going up rapidly! In this chapter, it is the first appearance of Cherno in this chapter! Luca is 16 now and has just taken the drift compatibility test. Thanks for reading/reviewing and I hope you enjoy this chapter!**_

I walk out of the test room, feeling relieved because I have been dreading this test for weeks on end and I am so thankful that it is finally over! Mako and Raleigh are waiting for me along with James and Jack Hansen. Jack didn't pass the test so he works on helping fix damaged jaegers and rebuild new ones. James did pass but he still hasn't found a co-pilot with the same physical compatibility as him.

"How did it go?" Mako asks me softly.

"Good, I think. They didn't tell me the results but they want me in the briefing room tomorrow at 8am." She nods and we all stand around awkwardly for a few minutes before Raleigh says,

"They brought Cherno back today. They finished repairing him."

"It's been awhile since they started." It's been 8 years, but I guess Cherno is difficult to find parts for, they had to fuse two jaegers together and money was probably a big part of it. "Can I go and see him?" Raleigh nods. "I think I will go see him then."

"Do you want me to come with you?" James asks.

"Not really, I think this is something I need to do alone."

"Ok." He says and off I go. I don't know whereabouts Cherno is but there is only 1 hangar and he shouldn't look too different from the pictures and I have basically every detail of him memorised.

In the hangar, I spot him immediately. You can see where he has been fused with Gipsy's remains but they have kept his iconic fists and done a pretty good job on the con pod that was basically obliterated. I notice that the fists are shaped in such a way as to form a cannon if need be and there are some twin swords on his back. The legs and torso are slightly slimmer, probably because they used Gipsy's parts for that, but all in all he look exactly like I would imagine him to be.

There is a big crowd around him because he is now the only Jaeger left from the first kaiju war and he was probably, in my opinion, the most successful Jaeger. I want to go closer and as I begin to move towards him, everyone else moves out of the way. Good, because he is technically my inheritance even though I like to think of jaegers as alive and not as objects.

I'm so close to him that if I just reach out, I will be able to touch him, but I'm afraid that if I do, he will vanish and it will all be just a dream. Eventually I reach out and place one hand on his giant metal foot. He doesn't vanish into thin air and I know now that this is real, that this is really happening.

"Hi Cherno." I whisper. I don't really know what to say. I want to say something but what do you say to a huge metal robot? "I'm Luca, you probably don't know me, but I'm your pilot's daughter." Now I feel stupid. Really stupid, because who on planet earth talks to their dead parents Jaeger? I don't really know what else to say until I remember what Mako said to me when I was really small.

"_Sasha and Aleksis treated cherno like he was their son, in a way." _

So if I am their daughter and was like their child then I guess we are family, in an odd way.

"I guess you're my brother then." I say and pat the metal foot. It might sound crazy but at that point I felt accepted by Cherno, like he understood who I was, and that I wasn't going to hurt him. I smiled.

"I promise, I will keep you safe." Weird thing to promise, but I felt like I needed to say it.

"Your parents would be proud." I turn and see Herc Hansen standing opposite me. He nods as I look at him and then turns and leave without another word, leaving me with Cherno and my thoughts.


	8. Chapter 6: Fight with James

I walk into the training room at 8:00am. They called me here to tell me if I have passed the drift compatibility test. I hope I have. After meeting Cherno, I know that he is the perfect Jaeger for me to pilot which isn't surprising really as he was my parents Jaeger.

In the training room, I am in for a shock because not only are all the people that took the test are there but some of the older pilots. That must mean we are going to be doing Physical compatibility today. I wish they had given us time to prepare.

Marshall Hopcroft steps forward and begins reading off the names of people who passed the test and who we will be fighting against. I am just hoping and praying that my name is on that list. Then,

"Luca Kaidonovsky." Yes! I did it!

"Here Marshall." I reply.

"You will be against James Hansen." Really? He is the best of the best of the trainees here at the Shatterdome and I am going to be hard pressed to beat him. Of course, if he thinks I am an easy fight then he has got a shock coming to him. I go and stand in the center of the room and he comes forward.

"Hello." He says.

"Hi." I reply and catch a sparring stick than someone tosses to me. He is already holding his so I guess they told him last night.

"Begin!" Says Marshall Hopcroft and I lunge towards his left shoulder, hoping to catch him off guard, but he dodges and sidesteps around me. I turn around quickly and block his block towards my hip.

"Your fast." He says and I nod. We circle around for a bit and he slashes towards my left arm but I spin around, lunge forward and score a hit on his right shoulder. He doesn't pay any attention to it instead going for a place where I let my guard down for half a second and hitting my right arm as I raise it, trying to block his hit.

He brings his stick around and we exchange a parry of blows before taking a step back and resuming the circling. I can't land another hit on him and he can't land one on me. We are pretty evenly matched and the only way Im going to get him down is to try and trick. I feint to the left, purposefully letting my left arm go unguarded for half a second and he lunges forward. I slash upwards, scoring a heavy hit.

His guard slips and I slash at his other shoulder and before he can recover, I slash his leg. When he tries to step forwards I trip him and he falls over. He rolls over though and is back on his feet before I can land a hit. Whoever said he was the best trainee fighter certainly wasn't lying.

I try again and again to trick him but he doesn't fall for it. Then I have an idea. I feint and allow him to score a hit. He knocks me down and I see him come in for the ending blow and I roll quickly and his stick points at the ground and I turn and point it at the back of his neck.

"Dead." I say and stand back. He stands up and turns around. He offers his hand. I take it and he squeezes it. He doesn't seem at all angry that I beat him.

"Alright, I have made up my mind. Luca, James, report to simulation centre tomorrow to start training together. Dismissed." I nod and follow James out of the room.

"So since I have to pilot Cherno and you're my co-pilot I think I should introduce you." I say. He smiles.

"Ok then." And we go to the hangar side by side.


	9. Chapter 7: Confessions

"Wow." James says, looking up at Cherno.

"Wow is the word." I murmur. "You want to go closer?" He nods. He looks excited, like we are children again and he has just received his birthday present. He has waited a few years to become a Jaeger pilot though so it's probably better than a thousand Christmases and birthdays all put together. We go closer. "Say Hi" I tell him.

"Umm, Hi Cherno?" He hesitantly takes his hand and reaches out as if to pat Cherno but then pulls his hand back. I stare at him in surprise. "I'm afraid he might… vanish, you know? I have wanted to be a pilot my whole life and I don't want this to be just another dream." I do understand because I felt the same way the first time I saw Cherno.

"That Jaeger of yours ain't going nowhere boy." I know without looking that it's Herc Hansen. I sometimes listen to him talking to Raleigh. Mako explained to me that after Chuck died, Raleigh became a sort of second son for Herc. "I can tell you for sure, son, that this is no dream." Herc tells him. I decide to give my input and give him a pinch.

"Ow! That hurt!"

"Well at least you know this isn't a dream." He mutters something incoherent under his breath and reaches out and gives him a pat.

"Good alloy that." He comments. I nod, unsure what to say.

"Yep, Striker Eureka had weaker than Cherno and Gipsy but she was much faster. Compared to her, Cherno nd Gipsy were snails." Herc says. James and I exchange a glance. Usually I would say a sarcastic comment in return, but Herc never talks about Striker Eureka. Ever. I wait to see if he will go on.

"Unique style of fighting too, with her twin blades. No other Jaeger had that."

"No other Jaeger was a Mark 5." I say. He turns to me.

"True that."

"How fast was she?" James asks.

"Very fast. All the other Jaegers walked. She _ran. _She could run to assist anyone in any fight and she almost always got there in time." He turns to me. "Almost always. The one time she didn't make it was in the most important fight of all. The double event."

"What?" I say.

"It wasn't even her fault. It was mine and all because I wouldn't disobey orders." He says. I can't say anything. He continues, James and I listening, unable to tear ourselves away. "We saw Crimson go down and Cherno were one against two category 4's. I knew they were in trouble but I didn't want to disobey orders. Our orders were not to engage and I was uncertain. Chuck wanted to go straight away but I didn't go until they called for backup. We ran at top speed but a Kaiju reared up and…. Crushed them."

I don't know what to say. I can't speak or move.

"But, you had your orders." James says.

"Screw the orders!" he shouts loudly and James jumps violently. "Jaeger pilots have an unspoken promise to protect each other, even if it means disobeying orders. They would have done it as soon as they saw me in trouble so why didn't I do it for them? My hesitation killed them! I have had to live with that guilt for 16 years, knowing my hesitation killed my friends and made their child an orphan!"

"You didn't kill them." I say. "You didn't save them but you didn't kill them either." I want to say it isn't his fault. I want to say that they could have died later anyway. But I can't because even though he didn't kill them, I can't help thinking what would have happened if he had got there. They could be alive.

"I'm not asking for forgiveness, I'm asking for understanding."

"Is that why you didn't become Marshall?" James asks.

"No. I was not worthy of it. Not after that." I look at him. This is a man who has lived though two Kaiju wars, the death of most of his friends, the death of his son and lived with guilt for 16 years. Herc is just a man who has been broken by war. I can't blame him for their deaths.

"You didn't kill them, the Kaiju did. I….forgive you because I know they would too and I don't think you should keep blaming yourself." He nod and goes off. I am left alone with James and Cherno.

"You introduce me to a Jaeger and one of the most important men on base reveals his secrets. I wonder what the world will do when we start piloting." It's a lame attempt to make me smile but it works anyway.

"Probably have a heart attack." I murmur. "I'm going to go and…. Walk around for awhile."

"You want me to come."

"Thanks, but I think you should get better acquainted with Cherno. We did come here for that after all."

"Ok." He says and I walk out of the exit and face the stormy ocean. I sit on the edge of the road and wonder if the sea looked like this the night my parents died.


	10. Chapter 8: The Drift

Next morning when I walk into the simulation room I see Herc and James having a conversation about Jaeger fighting methods and formations. I wonder what Herc is doing there as it is usually Mako, Raleigh or Marshall Hopcroft overseeing simulation training.

"Morning guys" I say. James smiles at me and Herc turns around.

"Morning yourself Luca." Herc says

"Umm, not to be rude or anything, but why are you here?"

"There has been a change of plan. More Kaiju have been coming out of the breach lately and we need more Jaegers. As our most promising candidates, we thought we would get you used to the drift first and controlling a real Jaeger. That way you can be relied on as back-up." It makes sense I suppose, but I wish I could have more time practicing with the simulation. Now we will probably only have a couple of weeks practicing. Still, I guess it is good not to have to wait months before I go on my first real mission.

"So when do we first drift?" James asks.

"Now. You need to go and suit up and get into Cherno Alpha." Now?! I thought he meant we would only have a couple of weeks in the simulations, not any time at all. We follow Herc to the room where we will suit up. People begin to crowd around us, placing various parts of the suits on. I frown.

"Don't we need to learn how to do this ourselves?" I ask.

"A fair question Luca, but no. You only need to worry about piloting Cherno." Once we are suited up, Herc leads us into the conn pod of Cherno. James turns to me.

"Do you want left side or right side?"

"I don't mind." I say, and I really don't.

"Can I have the right then? My left arm is noticeably weaker."

"Sure." I tell him. I wonder why it is weaker. Maybe he damaged it in training? I guess I will find out in a few minutes. Herc turns to go.

"Aren't you staying in here?" James asks.

"There's not room for an extra pilot boy, and it isn't safe." He must the looks of apprehension on our faces because he adds. "Don't worry, I will guide you from the transmitter." He goes out. James looks at me.

"Nervous?" He asks.

"No" I tell him and it is true. I don't think I could ever be nervous of a Jaeger and especially not Cherno. I'm not worried about him being in my head, because I have grown up with him and he knows everything about me anyway.

"Alright kids." Herc's voice comes on over the speaker. "First drift is always the hardest, but it gets better. The main things to remember are don't chase the R.A.B.I.T and just let the memories pass you by."

"OK Herc." I say. A different voice comes over the intercom.

"Good luck, both of you." Raleigh! He came to see my first drift. Maybe Mako is there too? I hope so.

"Thanks Raleigh." James says.

"We'll start the countdown." I don't know if I'm ready. "Initiating Neural Handshake in…"

"5"

I can do this, I can.

"4"

I have to, for Cherno and James.

"3"

But what if I mess up?

"2"

I _can't _fail.

"1"

No turning back now.

At first I see nothing. Then flashes of memory hit me like an avalanche. James being teased by Jack. Me eating breakfast. Us playing play station. Raleigh cooking pancakes. Herc and Mako talking. James doing the drift compatibility tests. And some that don't belong to either of us, like… Mum? And Dad? It's so hard not to go into them, to find out more about my parents but I must not chase the R.A.B.I.T. Along with the memories come fast, random flashes of emotions. Then it's over. I open my eyes. Nothing seems unusual until James speaks, or thinks.

"_That was interesting."_ He's in my head!

"_And you're in mine!" _Comes the reply. This is seriously strange, hearing myself and him in my head at the same time.

"Alright kids?" Herc asks. I jump.

"I think so; this is just going to take some getting used to." I say and I feel James agree with me. "Herc, is it unusual to see memories that don't belong to either of you?" I ask. I have to know. He sighs.

"Well, if the Jaeger has been piloted before then no and yours is a mixture of two Jaegers that have been piloted by many different pilots. Don't ask me why this is, it just is."

"Ok." I say.

_Interesting that. Almost like they have their own personalities. _James says. I like that idea.

_Good, I do too. _

This is definitely going to get some getting used to. As well as James I can feel… Cherno? I want to move my hand. James waits and we do it together. I feel the metal fingers creak as they move, almost as if Cherno is waking up.

"Good, now raise your left arm, slowly." I do and the left arm raises.

"Right arm." James raises his right arm.

"Very good, now then….." he begins.

"Category 4 approaching", says someone. It sounds like Mako. There seems to be a commotion over the other end then,

"Cherno, defend the shoreline."

"What?" My voice comes out as a high pitched squeak. "You will not engage but be on standby as a last defence. Golden Blaze, Danger Heart and Lyrical Angel will engage the Kaiju. Take this as an opportunity to learn some fighting techniques." I see. As there is basically no danger, we can watch and learn from experienced pilots.

_Whose lyrical Angel? _James asks. I don't actually know, I think it is another American Jaeger that is piloted by two girls, but I'm not sure.

_Ok, just wondering. _

I nod and we walk together out the Hangar and into the ocean. We watch the other three Jaegers getting dropped by helicopter and see them take up a fighting stance. For better or worse I'm about to witness a Kaiju vs. Jaeger fight in person for the first time ever.


End file.
